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Stephen Morrissey
by George J. Dance Stephen Morrissey (born 1950) is a Canadian poet. Life Morrissey was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1950. He earned a B.A. in English from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in 1973, and an M.A. in English from McGill University, where he studied under Louis Dudek, in 1976.Stephen Morrissey. Web, Mar. 11, 2019. Morrissey taught English literature at Champlain College from 1976 to 2012. In the 1970s Morrissey was associated with the Vehicule Poets, a group of young poets who published and organized poetry readings at Vehicule Art Gallery in Montreal. He published 2 literary magazines, what is (1973-1975) and "the Montreal Journal of Poetics (1978-1985). His debut collection of poetry, The Trees of Unknowing was published by Vehicule Press in 1978. In 1983 Coach House Press in Toronto published Morrissey's 2nd book of poems, Divisions. Family Album (1989) was published by Caitlin Press in Vancouver. '' Mapping the Soul: New and selected poems'' was published in 1998 by the Muses' Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His poetry has been translated into French and published in bilingual anthologies. A French translation of The Mystic Beast was published by Les Éditions Triptyque as la bête mystique in 2004. Morrissey has published many book reviews and articles on poetics. He has given poetry readings across Canada, from Memorial University of Newfoundland to the University of British Columbia, and has also read his work in the United States. Morrissey has a son, Jake Morrissey. He married poet Carolyn Zonailo in 1995. In 2000, Morrissey and Zonailo founded Coracle Press in Vancouver. Morrissey is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada and the League of Canadian Poets. Writing Northrop Frye wrote of Morrissey's 1983 collection: "Divisions ... I found extremely powerful, at once visionary and movingly personal." Morrissey's writing has been influenced by 2 great 20th-century thinkers: J. Krishnamurti, whose lectures he attended in Switzerland, California, and New York City; and C.G. Jung, whose work influenced his Shadow Trilogy: The Compass (1993), The Yoni Rocks (1995), and The Mystic Beast (1997), all published by Empyreal Press in Montreal. Ralph Maud, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, said of his Selected Poems: "Morrissey tells us things we want to know about life, his life and ours. He does not get in the way of the reader thoroughly enjoying his poetry." Recognition Morrissey won the Peterson Poetry Award while a student at McGill. Morrissey has received writer's grants from the Canada Council. In 1997 the Government of Quebec named an island in northern Quebec after a phrase from his poem, "La Vingt-Septieme Lettre." Publications Poetry *''The Trees of Unknowing''. Montreal: Vehicule Press, 1978. *''Divisions''. Toronto: Coach House, 1983. *''Family Album''. Vancouver: Caitlin Press, 1989. *''The Compass (The Shadow Trilogy, Book I). Montreal: Empyreal Press, 1993. *''The Yoni Rocks (The Shadow Trilogy, Book II). Montreal: Empyreal Press, 1995. *''The Mystic Beast (The Shadow Trilogy, Book III). Montreal: Empyreal Press, 1997. *''Mapping the Soul: Selected poems, 1978-1998. Winnipeg, MB: Muses' Company, 1998. *''Girouard Avenue''. Montreal: Coracle Press, 2009. Chapbooks *''Poems of a Period''. Montreal, 1971. *''The Divining Rod''. Edmonton, AB: Greensleeve Editions, 1993. *''The Beauty of Love''. Vancouver: Poem Factory, 1994. *''The Carolyn Poems''. Vancouver: Poem Factory, 1995. *''1950''. Vancouver: Poem Factory, 1996. *''Hoolahan's Flats, Oxford Avenue''. Montreal: Coracle Press, 2005. Non-fiction *''The Aquarian Symbols: The 360 degrees of the zodiac'' (with Carolyn Joyce). Vancouver: Coracle Press, 2000. *''Remembering Artie Gold'' (chapbook; edited by Carolyn Zonailo). Montreal: Coracle Press, 2007. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy University of Toronto.Stephen Morrissey: Publications, Canadian Poetry Online, University of Toronto. Web, Mar. 11, 2019. See also *List of Canadian poets References Fonds The Stephen Morrissey Papers, 1963-2014, including literary papers, manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, notebooks, posters, photographs of poets, and tape recordings of poetry readings, are housed at Rare Books and Special Collections of the McLennan Library of McGill University.The Stephen Morrissey Papers, 1963-2014, StephenMorrissey.ca. Web, Apr. 14, 2019. Notes External links ;Poems *"Remembering Louis Dudek" *Stephen Morrissey profile & 6 poems at Canadian Poetry Online *Poems ;Books *Stephen Morrissey at Amazon.com ;About *Stephen Morrissey at the Vehicule Poets *Stephen Morrissey Official website *Made in Montreal Morrissey's weblog archive *Interview with Stephen Morrissey (part 1) & (part 2) at Spoken Web Montreal, 2013 Category:20th-century poets Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian academics Category:English-language poets Category:Poets